Cationic polymers have many unique biological, chemical, and mechanical properties. It is well known that cationic polymers can condense DNA or proteins or proteins for gene or drug delivery. Polycations can be used as an antimicrobial agent to disrupt the membranes of bacteria. However, cationic polymers present cell toxicity and tend to bind proteins that restricts their biomedical applications. For antimicrobial materials, killed microbes can accumulate on the surfaces and decrease their antimicrobial activities.
Despite the usefulness of cationic polymers for biomedical applications, there exists a need for new polymeric materials that offer the advantageous properties of cationic polymers without suffering from their associated disadvantages. The present invention seeks to fulfill this need and provides further related advantages.